Victoria Maidhof

sarah cuff November 25, 2018

Since the first time I worked with Sarah (2014), I’ve returned numerous times over the years for additional help in a number of areas (various races I was training for, gut issues I had and are now behind me). However earlier this year I approached her with a request I wasn’t sure she’d take on – which was to help me regain my fertility. I had a miscarriage after my firstborn, and was not having any luck with getting pregnant again. Having been tested by my doctor, I’d learned my AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone, which tests ovarian reserve) was 0.4 – anything under 0.3 is undetectable (this is the level of a woman in her late 40’s, not one like me in my early 30s!). My doctor told me I needed to now look at going to a fertility clinic for treatments and had this whole expensive plan written out for me. And my OB wanted me to start on clomid right away.

To be honest I was scared for my reproductive health. But not only that, I felt like crap and also had high dreams of being what I call “Thor” again (a lean, mean running machine – fast and disciplined!). I wanted to feel like a runner and lover of races once again. But I was stuck dealing with high levels of stress and anxiety, in a place nearly impossible to make healthy choices (or even know what the best healthy choices were). When I began working with Sarah 3 months ago, I was having a panic attack every week. Now? I haven’t had a panic attack in I don’t know how long.

Another recent example: I went to a job interview – cool as a cucumber, totally unplanned and had no nerves?! I wasn’t even thinking I’d get it and I did. I believe this was all because of mindset. I also now feel equipped to deal with my family health issues if they flair up again (versus falling into myself a total wreck like before). I’m back to RUNNING on a schedule and to fueling myself properly. Having Sarah’s support through her feedback on my food/exercise/life journal and our phone calls literally saved my butt. With everything going on, I even managed to train for and run a marathon just last month! And it appears Sarah totally helped me heal my “dying ovaries”. After 3 months of working with Sarah I decided I wanted to have my AMH tested again, just for my own knowledge. My doctor told me I was wasting my time and that there was NO WAY my number would have moved much in this short amount of time. I really had to sort of argue to get the test (I think they only agreed because it is an out of pocket test). And guess what? My new number is 1.83 – which is a perfectly healthy number.

Sarah I have to thank you so much! Seriously I could cry when I think about how I felt then and how I feel now.

And I’m so excited for all that’s to come, including my 50 mile race in January!

I have been an athlete and nutrition enthusiast for most of my life. So I questioned if there was really anything else I could learn that would directly effect me as a runner from Sarah! Despite what I thought I knew, I had been struggling with achieving my “race weight”. I could not seem to pin point exactly what was keeping the extra 6 pounds on me, so I decided to go for it and work with her. The cost was so reasonable, I figured if I learn just a couple of key things, it will have been worth it.

In terms of running, I learned that I was not fueling myself properly before a race! I no idea! I was also clueless about the importance of recovery fuel. With Sarah’s help, I successfully experimented with pre-marathon fat loading, twice, which helped me achieve my race weight by race day, and earned me a new PR in the half-marathon.

There were also so many other tid bits, like drinking beet juice before a race, 3-day carb loading so that my body was hydrated from the inside out, tart cherry juice smoothies, the 5-Day KickStart Cleanse! All new to me! Sarah initially designed my program as a gluten, dairy, corn, and soy free plan, by pinpointing those foods and ingredients as non-beneficial to me. And when we later discovered that grain was also something that needed to be eliminated, she sent me an entirely new packet of recipes, all which helped lessen the daunting task of trying to figure out what I could eat.

Although I’d figured out a long time ago that gluten and dairy were not my friends, before working with Sarah I ate lots and lots of tofu, popcorn, and grain. Without realizing it, these foods were making me bloated, 6 lbs heavier, and weakening my immune system. Since eliminating these foods, I have recovered from injury faster, avoided catching a cold when in close contact, and even eased some of my PMS symptoms.

I would without hesitation recommend Sarah’s nutrition coaching to anyone, in fact, even people who do not run. There’s simply nothing else that Sarah could have done to help me better to reach my goals! However, the next big running ambition I have I will be sure to hire her as my running coach.

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